US reimburses Pakistan $688 million for Afghanistan war

The Pentagon is quietly paying $688 million to Pakistan in exchange for its help in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported. Senator John Kerry was a major proponent of the move. The money compensates the Pakistani military for 140,000 troops it placed on the border with Afghanistan.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter notified Congress that the US was making the payment to Islamabad for expenses incurred from June through November 2011. ‘‘In making this determination, I find that the reimbursement is consistent with the national security interest of the United States and will not adversely affect the balance of power in the region,’’ Carter wrote in a letter, the Associated Press reported.

Lawmakers have nonetheless expressed frustration with Pakistan because they believe that the country was harboring Osama bin Laden before he was killed in Pakistan in May 2011, the AP said.